Pretty Boy
by Leina
Summary: Tala and Brooklyn do everything together. After forming a band with Kai and Max, all that’s left is to get a record deal. When the opportunity arises, the only catch is having to turn a juvenile, weapon-obsessed delinquent into a refined youth.


I'm actually submitting another Beyblade fic! Do I plan on actually finishing this one? I _truly_ hope so because I happen to like this one a lot. Hopefully this doesn't end up adding to my list of unfinished fics, but then again, I've already planned the next twelve chapters O.o So…I think it'll be okay XD Just for the record, I'm not using any OCs, nor have I decided on pairings yet. So, I'll warn you now, don't judge things too easily. 

I'd also like to dedicate this fic to **Rubellite **for encouraging me so much and for being such a wonderful friend :D Happy Birthday hun! I hope you like the last bit! It turned out a bit different from what I expected.

**Warnings:** This is an _AU_. There is both _shounen-ai _and_ het romance_. There is slight _shoujo-ai_. There is _swearing_. There are _angsty pasts_. There is _fan service_. There are many _unexpected events._

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Beyblade or any of its characters.

**Chapter One: Pretty Living**

Tala was spread on the comfortable, leather couch like a sloth, silently staring at the lofty, cream ceiling. As he smoothly rolled onto his side, his lavender gaze idly wandered to the open window and lingered on the fluttering jade curtains. Every so often, the stirring drapes allowed pools of sunlight to enter and warm the room—an extremely vast-looking room, at least in Tala's current opinion. Normally, the room did not look quite as large as it did now and the reason being that it usually held three other occupants: Tala's house and band mates.

Max, the youngest, would usually be practicing his singing and dancing in the open area behind the couch. Their official brooder, Kai, would often sit on the isolated chair reading some thick book. Brooklyn, who was supposedly the most mature, would sit near the window writing, usually song lyrics. And Tala? He would be engaged in what he was doing now—lying lazily on the sofa.

Where were his said housemates now though? Well, they were all out having a good time, while Tala reluctantly stayed back, boredly waiting for a phone call from the land lady.

He checked his silver watch and groaned; it was already past one. The landlady had pointedly said that she would call early Saturday morning, which was why the boys had originally all planned to go out somewhere after lunch. Since the first set of midterms was quickly approaching, the boys have generally been studying non-stop, and after a tedious while, a guy could really use a break. Today was supposed to be their day off—a day to unwind and have fun.

Tala looked out the window again, bitterly craving to go outside. It was such a fine day too, which was a nice change since it had been raining almost every day for the past week. Although it was still only late May, the rainy season seemed to already be starting.

The redhead let out a long breath of air, as he dejectedly shifted onto his stomach. This really sucked. Sometimes, he wished he wasn't the oldest of the four because he was often given all the practical duties, which were, by far, incredibly dull. It was strange and irritating since everyone knew that Brooklyn was the most adult, but that lazy jerk habitually dropped everything on Tala. He frequently claimed that it helped build maturity, which was apparently important for him since he was the oldest.

_Maturity, my ass. _

Brooklyn always got his way. When he talked, his words always seemed to point out the best course of action, and everyone would just have to agree. Plus, he had this charismatic personality that made it singularly difficult to deny him anything.

_I'm going to kill him when they gets back,_ Tala decided, grudgingly tearing his gaze from the bright world. The normally lavish mansion felt like a god-forsaken prison when the outside looked so damn appealing_. It won't be easy to kill him though,_ he thoughtfully began. _He's clever, but maybe_ _food poisoning would—_

"Yo! You've reached Tala, Brooklyn, Kai and Max." Tala glanced up, immediately recognizing his own voice on their answering machine. Why didn't he hear it ring? Oh right…they turned it off because of the incessant calls they were getting last night. "…just leave a message and don't forget to mention who it's for." Tala was quickly jerking his reach in the couch; he had this bad habit of losing the cordless phone within the huge pillows. "…talking after the beep." He heard the obligatory beep, followed by the vibrant voice of a woman; it was the land lady.

"Oh hell," he cursed, giving up on the cordless phone. He swiftly dashed into the hall, where one of the many cord phones in the mansion was located. "Hello?"

"Ah! Tala-kun, is that you?" replied a cheery voice.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that. I was…busy."

He heard her laugh lightly and imagined that she was probably shaking her head, amused, at the same time. "Are the others around?" she finally asked.

"No…they went, um, grocery shopping."

"Grocery shopping?" she questioned, sounding genuinely surprised. "You mean for proper food and not that microwave junk you always eat, right? Have you boys finally learned how to cook good food?"

"We're working on it."

"Lovely!" Tala grinned; he pictured her looking absolutely delighted. She treated them like a mother hen, which he figured was probably natural since she had mentioned before that she was a mother herself. "Anyway, I have some interesting news."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mhm." She paused, and Tala could hear her tapping something against the phone—probably her long nails. "Tala dear, how would you feel if I told you that my pride and joy was coming to live with you boys for the school year?"

Tala stared at the phone.

"Tala-kun?"

He roughly shook his head. "Uh, yeah, I'm here."

"So what do you think?"

"Well…" Tala began uncomfortably and unwittingly left the opening word hanging. The redhead bit his lip, mulling an adequate response. He was usually an excellent conversationalist, but her announcement had undoubtedly caught him off guard. "Well, I think…that if you really think it's a good idea, then go for it."

"Oh! That's wonderful then! I'm very pleased to hear that. You'll inform everyone else, yes?"

"Sure."

"Excellent!" She let out a content sigh before going on. "There's something else I'd like to request. My darling child…well…I believe is rather shy and has this tendency to—"

"Matsuda-san," Tala smoothly cut in, "you don't have to worry about any of us trying anything inappro—"

"Oh my! That's not what I was going to say!" she exclaimed, laughing quite heartily, as if he had made a hysterical comment. "I wasn't thinking about that at all!" she breathlessly added, regaining her composure. "Tala dear, you're such a gentleman. Why would I be worried about such silliness? I know that all of you are proper young men."

"Oh…okay," he slowly replied.

"Anyway, since you four are such mature, outstanding adolescents, I was wondering if you could keep my sweetheart out of trouble."

"Out of trouble?" he repeated.

"Yes. My beloved rogue is a bit in that rebellious stage at the moment. It's rather cute, actually!" She laughed again, and Tala instinctively noticed that it sounded somewhat forced. "I do hope that I'm not asking for too much."

"No, it's fine. I'm sure we can handle everything. Are we in the same year?"

"Not quite. My young dear is actually a high school freshman."

_A first year like Max then,_ he vaguely realized. "Okay. Just leave it to us."

"I knew I could count on you!" she happily replied. "My darling should be arriving there early tomorrow morning."

_Tomorrow morning?_ Tala furrowed his eyebrows thoughtfully. _That's really…soon_, he pensively noted. "So, would you like us to go to the airport to—"

"Oh no!" she promptly cut in. "That's very kind of you, but that won't be necessary. I've already made the necessary driving arrangements."

"I see. Well, we'll be looking forward to it then."

"Lovely! Anyway, I need to get going Tala-kun. It's always a pleasure speaking with you. Thanks again, and say hello to everyone for me!"

"Of course. Bye Matsuda-san." Tala initiated the task of placing the receiver back down.

"Ah wait! I almost forgot!"

He quickly brought it back to his ear. "What is it?"

"I have one more request."

Tala lifted an eyebrow. Her tone was different; it was slightly more serious than usual. "Do you? What is it? I'm sure we can arrange something."

The girls in the vicinity all stared lovingly as three very attractive young men walked down the street. Their persistent whispering and giggling was hardly discreet, and the blushes on their faces grew every time one of the handsome boys gave them a friendly smile.

"Did you see that Tsuki-chan? He smiled _directly_ at me!"

"Hart-san smiles at everyone though."

"But not _that_ kind of smile! I could tell; it was different than how he usually smiles."

"Really? Well personally, I much prefer Hiwatari-san. I love the strong silent types."

"No way! Brooklyn Hart-sama is way better!" She paused, letting out a long, dreamy sigh, as her eyes glazed over. "Hart-sama is like the heart of my life! He's so sweet, polite, charming…he's like Yuki from Fruits Basket come to life!"

Brooklyn could clearly hear the chattering girls and consequently sent his two companions an amused smile. As if it were a custom procedure, the blond on his right pulled out a small notepad from his pocket and added two checks.

"What's the score now?" Brooklyn asked.

"Um…" Max squinted, as he carefully counted the ticks beneath each of their names.

"Well, that girl tied you and me for first place. Oh! And now Kai's one point ahead of Tala," he added, winking at the slate-haired boy.

"How wonderful for me."

Max laughed at his friend's sarcastic comment. Kai said stuff like that all the time, but they all knew that part of him liked the attention—a very small part of him, at least.

"Tala's quite popular," Brooklyn casually pointed out, looking over the blond's paper.

"I know," Max agreed, staring at the ticks again. "And he's not even with us this time."

"He'll probably try something tonight," stated Kai, obviously addressing Brooklyn. "You know how much he wanted to go out today."

Brooklyn laughed softly, as he glanced at his stoic friend. "I'm very well aware of that," he acknowledged. "Though I'm sure I can handle whatever he throws at me."

"Don't eat anything he gives you," Kai bluntly added.

Brooklyn smiled. "I'll try not to."

The light-haired teen shook his head before playfully punching the taller boy's shoulder. "You should have been nice and let him come today!"

Brooklyn looked down at Max, who was giving him a slightly accusing stare. "Well he's older than me," he declared, nonchalantly tilting his head in blond's direction. "I think it's fair that he stayed back and took responsibility for the call."

Kai rolled his eyes, debating on whether he should say something. "You're unbelievable," he finally stated.

At this, Brooklyn grinned at him. "Aren't I?"

Just as Kai was about to retort something, he felt someone brush past him. He instinctively turned around and caught sight of a young girl, probably in junior high, staring at him nervously.

"I—I'm sorry Hiwatari-san!" she stuttered apologetically, subsequently bowing a few times. "I wasn't looking where I was going because I was in a rush, but I—"

"Stop that."

"H-hai!" she squeaked, straightening up.

"You shouldn't be so harsh," Max quietly chided.

Kai shot him a hard glare before slowly walking up to her. "Don't be so nervous," he said a bit more softly, making her chocolate eyes light up. Carefully, he leaned down slightly and gave her a small grin. "Just be more careful next time, okay?"

She gave him a huge smile, before nodding fervently. "I will! Arigatou!" She bowed one more time, before cheerfully skipping off, her loose ponytail bouncing gaily.

Kai stood back up properly and sighed. He turned back around and fiercely glowered at both Max and Brooklyn, who looked like they were about to crack. "Don't either of you dare say anything," he snapped.

They shook their heads innocently, and Kai crossly stepped back beside Max. After about a solid minute of walking in silence, Max tapped Kai on the shoulder.

"What?"

"You get two points for that," he happily informed him. "You know what that means?" he asked in an announcer's voice, making Kai cringe with unwanted anticipation. "You have reached fifty points, which makes you, Kai Hiwatari, the prince for today!" Max triumphantly declared, laughing.

Kai all but glared, while Brooklyn outwardly joined the younger boy's amusement. Indignantly, Kai hastened his pace so that he was walking slightly in front of them, as he muttered something about all the crap he put up with every time he showed any sign of kindness.

"Why do I even bother?" he grumbled, under his breath.

He felt one of his friends lean against his shoulder. "Because inside, you've got a heart of gold," Max whispered.

Kai immediately shoved him off and stalked ahead. Far _far_ ahead.

Tala wiped the sweat from his brow before plopping in the middle of the living room. His loose bangs were matted on his forehead, while the rest of his fiery mane rested messily on the floor. He turned his head and was vaguely pleased to realize that there was a soft carpet beneath him; then again, it wasn't all that significant since all he really wanted was to relax, regardless of whether his place of rest was soft or not. Unlike himself, Max never needed to rest, and he never understood how the blond could practice all the dance moves ceaselessly, but on the other hand, the blond seemed to have an unlimited amount of energy.

Tala's breathing came out in soft pants, and he knew exactly what a sorry state he looked at the moment. If Brooklyn were around, he would probably kick him lightly on the side, _kindly_ demanding that he get up. Naturally, Max would be bustling in the kitchen getting him a bottle of water, while Kai would be standing off to the side silently with his arms crossed. He'd never say anything to Tala because everyone knew that Kai was the worst dancer out of the four of them, which was a grand source of amusement for everyone except Kai.

As if on cue, the door bell rang. Tala barely glanced in the direction of the sound before letting out an exasperated groan. He rolled his eyes, as he jadedly dragged himself off the floor. Of course it just _had_ to ring during his state of utter pity.

While unwillingly pacing to the door, there was an abrupt knocking on the window, where Tala immediately caught sight of Max animatedly waving at him and mouthing for him to hurry up. Tala nodded, as he made a shooing motion at his friend. At that, the younger teenager gave him a bright smile before disappearing back onto the porch.

"You sure took you're time," Kai commented, as soon as Tala managed to pry the door opened.

Max laughed and slung his arm around Tala's neck. "Give him a break Kai. Can't you see that he's tired?" As if to emphasize his point, he innocently ran his index finger smoothly down his friend's slick cheek bone. "Damn Tala. You really worked up a sweat, huh?"

Tala granted him a knowing smirk before waving the hand away from his face. Max had the gift of being allowed to say and do whatever he pleased without being told off by anyone—probably because of his so-called "innocence".

"He's right," Brooklyn put in, eyeing Tala meticulously. "You really do look rather…prostrated."

Tala promptly threw daggers at him. Best friend or not, Brooklyn, on the other hand, was another story.

"Say that again," Tala challenged in a husky voice, advancing closer to the lighter redhead.

Brooklyn grinned back, signifying his acceptance of the dare. After clearing his throat, he began to speak with perfect clarity. "You really do look rather pros-tra-ted."

Tala scowled, as he diminished their proximity dangerously. "Again," he breathed.

Brooklyn evenly met his daunting gaze, making no attempt to step back. "You – really – do – look– rather – pros—"

"Okay, I think that's enough!" Max cut in, filling in the role of a chaperone. He observed the two as they continued to guardedly stare at each other and sighed. They obviously weren't backing down, nor were they in the mood to listen to him. Thus, the baby blond did the only thing he could do. "Kai," he said quietly, lightly nudging him with his elbow. "Say something."

Kai gave the younger boy a dull glance, looked at the other two and finally declared, "If you keep this up, neither of you are getting dinner." There was a brief pause before his statement suddenly seemed to click in their minds.

"What?" they exclaimed, simultaneously turning their attention to Kai.

Max giggled and glomped Kai from behind. "You heard him!" he said in mock severity, eying his two friends. "So you guys better play nice."

As the two stared at the odd-looking pair, the preceding tension seemed to completely melt away. Eventually, Brooklyn shook his head, chuckling to himself, before wordlessly heading into the living room, while Tala ruffled the golden mop on Max's head. Then, with a devilish grin, he suddenly caught him in a headlock and simply followed Brooklyn, ignoring Max's laughing objections. With a sigh, Kai slowly headed for the living room to join his eccentric group of friends.

"Let go! Let go! Let go!" Max fervently demanded, squirming like a fish out of water. "Kaaiii! Do something!"

It seemed as if Kai had gone temporarily deaf. He barely blinked as he walked right by Max and Tala, who were now in a very provocative position on the couch. Somehow, Tala had managed to pin the younger boy down and was now firmly straddled on top of him.

"Kai!"

Kai contentedly settled on his remote chair; then, he opened the Odyssey and began reading. Max, realizing that Kai refused to get involved, huffed loudly before deciding to seek help from another source. "Brooklyn!"

"Yes Maxie?" he replied serenely, as if it didn't look like Max was about to be raped.

"Get you're boyfriend off of me!" he yelled, trying to sound furious.

Tala's mauve eyes flared at the mention of the personal term, and he immediately tightened his hold on the poor blond, while pressing his weight more firmly against him. "Do you have a death wish?"

"Brooklyn!" Max wailed.

Brooklyn was still staring at his magazine. "Are you sure you want me to?"

In response, Max fiercely writhed beneath Tala's body and just barely managed to kick a pillow in Brooklyn's direction; it didn't go very far. After a minute of continuous sounds of _resistance_, Brooklyn eventually looked up from the article he was reading and gave Max a gentle smile.

"What's the magic word?"

"Please!"

"In that case, I'd be happy to assist you," he answered, finally getting up.

As Brooklyn jovially sauntered towards the large couch, Tala intensely threw daggers at him. "Why do you always take his side?" he sullenly demanded.

"Because Maxie is the youngest." Gracefully, he crouched down beside the sofa so that he was at the same level as the two boys, or technically, Tala's level. "Now, if you'd kindly get off of him, I won't have to take any action." He gave the redhead that charming and yet incredibly deceptive grin of his—the one he always gave right before he did something thoroughly vicious. As he graciously put a hand on Tala's shoulder, he leaned intimately close—enough for Tala to feel his warm breath on his neck. Then, in a low, hushed voice, he added "You know how much I'd _hate_ to get physical."

Everything about that instant sent shivers down Tala's spine. He had known Brooklyn for such a long time, and yet, he was never able to get used to moments like these. He didn't know how to describe it, but Brooklyn was so much more than captivating, and even Tala couldn't deny that sometimes, it was just intoxicating.

Brushing off Brooklyn's stimulation, Tala gingerly got off of Max and calmly faced his best friend. "You realize that you're a sadistic bastard."

Brooklyn offered him a gentle smile before elegantly walking back to where he was originally seated. Settling back into place, he picked up the magazine he had earlier. Once more, he met his friend's gaze and, to Tala'a surprise, his moist lips curved into a sinful grin as he slowly mouthed the words, "I know."

"Oh great. Now look what happened," Tala groaned, turning to Max. "He's in his crazy-psychopath-mode!"

"It's not my fault!" Max protested, pouting defiantly. "You were the one who tried to rape me!"

"You knew I was only kidding! You didn't have to get Brooklyn involved!"

"But then I wouldn't see you go all submissive when he dominates you're a—ahahaha! Uh…I mean…" Max let out another nervous laugh, suddenly realizing what he had been saying. As he awkwardly scratched the back of his head, Tala sent him a severe glare. The blond offered a sheepish grin in return. "Um…sorry?"

"You diabolical blond." His violet gaze darted to Brooklyn and then back to Max. "Both of you are so….so…" Without finishing his sentence, he suddenly growled and stalked out of the room.

Max blinked rapidly, listening to Tala stomping up the spiral flight of stairs. "Tala just pulled a Kai. He must be pretty mad," Max noted, oblivious to the brief glare that Kai pointedly threw at him. "I didn't mean to make him _that_ upset…" he added quietly, obviously feeling natural remorse.

Unexpectedly, Brooklyn released soft, soothing laughter that gently echoed in the large room. Calmly, he walked back over to Max and kindly sat beside him. "Don't worry Max. Tala just doesn't like being reminded about being dominated by others, that's all. He'll probably come back down after he cools off a bit," he reassured him with a smile.

"Are you sure?"

"Am I ever wrong?"

Max softly chuckled and nodded. "That's true. In that case, we should start making dinner. I'll set up the table, 'kay?" With that, the fifteen-year old bounced off the couch and headed into the dining room.

"He's so full of energy," Brooklyn commented to no one in particular. "I'm glad he's with us now." He then directed his attention to the only other person in the room, who seemed to be absorbed in his novel. "Don't you agree, Kai?"

The slate-haired teen didn't openly respond. Rather, he put his book down, got up, and said that he was going to start working on dinner. "Are you coming?" he asked simply.

Brooklyn's jade eyes had a glint of laugher as he nodded, subsequently following Kai, grinning. That was a definite yes.

Fifteen minutes had passed since Tala had heatedly gone upstairs to his bedroom—a very spacious bedroom, just like all the rest. Naturally, the redhead was lazily lying on his bed, staring at another pearl ceiling. He felt much calmer now. Normally, he wasn't a very moody person, but when he did get upset, he made it blatantly obvious.

_Maybe I should help with dinner,_ he thought, shifting into a sitting position. Gingerly, he leaned back against the wall and closed his lilac eyes. He wasn't upset anymore, but he certainly wasn't bursting with excitement with the idea of going back downstairs. He loved his band mates to pieces and all, but sometimes, they were just too much.

Two years. That's how long they have been together. Well actually, they've known each other for longer than that, but two years is how long they have been together as a four-person band. The funny thing is, they didn't even have a fixed name yet. Now that Tala thought about it, he found it rather sad and amusing. It was like every week, they would have a different name. When they actually performed, they were always introduced with their own names, but no band name. Nobody could agree on one name. They were all such distinct characters; thus, they all had dissimilar ideas. Right now, they were called _Untitled_. Oh, the joy.

Tala's head suddenly perked in the direction of the door, as he heard light knocking.

"May I come in?" a silky voice asked politely.

The redhead rolled his eyes, his gaze floating back to the ceiling. "You don't even have to ask. Why the hell do you do that anyway?"

The oak door slowly opened, and from the corner of his eye, Tala could see Brooklyn step into his room, smiling. "It's called common courtesy."

"Then should I knock when I want to enter your room?" he asked in return.

"No," replied Brooklyn, as he gently shut the door, barely making a sound.

Tala couldn't hold in his smirk. "What happened to that common courtesy of yours?"

"I think you answered your own question." The autumn-haired boy gracefully strode across the room, before stopping at Tala's bed. "Courtesy is one of my innate traits," he stated, casually sitting beside his friend. "You and I are different people. I wouldn't expect others to act the same way as I do."

The older teen, who was stretched across the soft mattress, turned his head, subsequently lifting an eyebrow. "Is that you're way of saying that I lack the quality of being courteous? What am I then, a rabid wolf?"

Brooklyn let out a soft laugh that filled the room like the sun did in the afternoon. He locked gazes with Tala, his eyes shining with a gentle smile, before making a motion for his friend to make some room for him. Tala complied, as he shifted his weight on the large bed. He could feel Brooklyn gingerly lay down beside him, and for a moment, they didn't speak. There was a comfortable silence gently drifting in the spacious room, and for Tala, it felt like home.

"Well?" he finally said.

Brooklyn looked at him innocently. "Well what?"

Tala grunted, slightly impatient. "Well, are you calling me a rabid wolf?"

There was another pause. Brooklyn looked as if he was contemplating on his words. "You say it as if it's a bad thing."

Tala suddenly realized that he was glaring at him; it was like a built-in response. He promptly changed his position so that he was facing the opposite direction. When Brooklyn didn't comment, he found himself wondering why he did things like that. He wasn't sure. It just always happened when they were together, more so around other people. Perhaps it came from the fact that they had been together for so long. When he was around Brooklyn, he just knew that he could act as he pleased.

"Are you mad about what happened earlier?" his best friend unexpectedly asked.

Tala remained in his current position. "No," he answered simply.

"You're lying."

Of course, the trouble with best friends was that it was nearly impossible to hide things from them. It was especially difficult with Brooklyn, who was just naturally perceptive. Plus, Tala found it hard to lie to him, or more correctly, he found it hard to withhold the truth for a long period of time. It didn't feel right.

"A bit," he reluctantly admitted.

Within seconds, he could feel Brooklyn's warm chest lightly rest against his back. Brooklyn's hand took a patient seat upon his arm, and Tala could feel him shift closer, so that their heads were perfectly adjacent.

Instinctively, Tala closed his eyes, as he felt the soft breathing against his neck. It was different from earlier. When it was just the two of them, there was a comfortable air that he couldn't explain. He grinned, suddenly remembering how they used to be like when they were younger. Brooklyn always did stuff like that, and when they were kids, Tala would always become alarmed at his actions. It was funny how things changed so much, or maybe not so much, when he really thought about it.

Tala felt Brooklyn's hand gently rub his arm in a slow manner, before stopping on his shoulder. He felt a light, genuine squeeze, as Brooklyn quietly said, "I apologize."

Tala smiled, despite himself. "You're forgiven," he replied bluntly. Then, grinning mischievously, he abruptly turned around, effectively catching the surprised look etched on his best friend's face. In one swift movement, his hand was tangled in Brooklyn's vibrant locks, holding their faces barely apart. "This time, at least," he added, smirking devilishly

The shocked expression on Brooklyn's face slowly melted into an affectionate smile, and he nodded. Tala returned the gesture, before gently bringing their foreheads together, closing his eyes reflexively.

Sometimes Tala wondered which part of their relationship was real: the one with people around or the one with just the two of them. He knew deep down that they were both at fault for the dual-nature of their relationship. They both tended to act somewhat different around people compared to when they only had each other for company. He also knew that some people wondered what exactly went on between them, and to be honest, Tala wasn't completely sure. He didn't think it was romance, but he knew it wasn't just friendship either. He could only guess that it was a brotherly thing, but then again, Tala didn't find labelling their relationship necessary. He knew there was an unbroken fondness between them, and that was enough.

"Tala?"

"Hm?"

"I should help with dinner." The redhead laughed softly, not surprised at Brooklyn's sense of responsibility. "You should too," he put in.

Tala scoffed at the comment. "Can I even peel a potato?"

"That's true."

Tala finally separated from his friend—enough so that he could meet his emerald gaze. "I'll come down later."

Brooklyn made a soft sound of disapproval, but nodded anyway. "Alright. I'll see you in a bit then."

He carefully sat back up and swung his legs back onto the floor. As his weight was lifted from the bed, Tala moved onto his back and placed his hands behind his head, shutting his eyes once more. After a few moments, when he didn't hear any sounds of walking or doors opening, he curiously opened his lavender orbs. As luck would have it, he was just in time to see Brooklyn close the proximity between them, placing a soft kiss against his mouth and swiftly pulling back, chuckling lightly. By the time Tala was able to move again, Brooklyn was already halfway to the door.

"You—!" he tried to yell indignantly, knowing that his best friend just got the better of him. He sat back up—an incredulous look on his face. "I can't believe you did that!"

Brooklyn was now standing at the door with his back to Tala. He slowly turned around, not making any attempt to hide the smug expression that he wore. "That was for surprising me earlier and for not helping with dinner."

Tala shook his head, as he huffed sulkily. That jerk. It's not like he really cared whether Brooklyn kissed him or not actually. In fact, this wasn't the first time. For them, it was just a standard show of affection that lasted for less than a second. However, when Brooklyn did it randomly like he had just a moment ago, that's when Tala found it so damn embarrassing.

"Good bye," he said simply, still looking both flustered and annoyed.

Brooklyn smiled at him and waved. Silently, he slipped out of his room and closed the door. Tala groaned loudly before plopping back on his bed. He stared at the door for a moment, idly wondering why he had such an insane best friend. It wasn't just Brooklyn either. He knew that the whole lot of them weren't exactly normal. Even so, he couldn't deny that one way or another, they were good together.

It was strange how the world worked. Somehow, each of them helped maintain a balance in the household. As much as they fought, as much as they argued, they were all still close friends. Living together was, without a doubt, pretty.

**Tsuzuku**

Right. It wasn't supposed to end like that, and I didn't get to do all I wanted. I'm sorry if I confused or bored anyone—just building foundation, you know? The boys are just so damn psycho... -.- Anyway, besides this fic's oddness, how was it? Let me know how you feel please:D


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